F Is For Figs. And Freakin' Good Roast Chicken.

F is for FIGS.

I was watching Tyler Florence the other day when he made this recipe and thought I'd try it.
The figs do not have a prominent role at all, so I'm figuring I'll have to do another F word, probably FOCACCIA, since I make a kickass focaccia
adapted from my friend Maxine's original recipe.

Here's Tyler's recipe for Blue Cheese Souffle with Fresh Figs and Honey.

And notice, the recipe calls for sugar, but the recipe doesn't bother to tell you where to put the sugar, so I winged it there. Also, since there were just the two of us who would actually eat blue cheese, I halved the recipe, and then tweaked it some more.

My ingredients, clockwise from top left:

pepper
salt
nutmeg
cream of tartar
2/3 cup combination 1% milk and heavy cream
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 TB sugar
2 TB flour
2 TB butter
3 eggs

Separate your eggs.

Aren't these yolks pretty?

Melt butter.

Add in the flour and cook to get rid of the raw taste, maybe 2-3 minutes.

Whisk the entire time.

Add in the milk, whisking until the roux is creamy and thickened.

Take roux off heat and let cool a bit before adding the yolks, one at a time.

I seasoned with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, then added the sugar.
The recipe neglected to mention what to do with the sugar,
so I added it in here.

Then I added in the blue cheese and refrigerated the mixture while I prepared the rest.

The original recipe called for 4 8-ounce ramikens.
Since I halved it I used 2 8-ounce ramekins, then I decided I could probably use an extra ramekin. I butter and sugared the ramekins.

Then I beat my egg whites with a bit of cream of tartar until soft peaks formed and decided to use an extra egg white since the roux looked very thick to me.

I added in 1/3 of the egg whites to the roux.

Folded in.

Then gently folded in the rest of the egg whites.

Poured into prepared ramekins.
I needed a few extra ramekins as you can see.

Baked in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes.

Aren't these pretty?
They all rose beautifully.
I almost impressed myself.

Oh my.
I was so pleased with these souffles.
Just beautiful.

WHOOT!
I just realized my souffles rose more than Tyler's.
Check out his picture.

Color me happy with the way these turned out.

As accoutrements, I have Mr. Hawthorne's sourwood honey, figs, and confectioner's sugar.

Here's the souffle with the figs, honey, and powdered sugar.
The souffle was delicious, but then I'm a whore for souffles.
Creamy texture on the inside, crusty on top, blue cheese on the bottom.
Nice combination of flavors.
I liked the sweetness of the honey and sugar
contrasting with the saltiness of the blue cheese.
Figs ? .... Meh ....
I guess I'm not a fig person.
But then, I really don't know a lot about figs.
Wait a minute.
Tyler's recipe called for fresh figs.
These figs were anything but fresh.
Maybe I'll make this again next month when Good Neighbor Bob's figs are ready for picking.
The figs I had were from Harris Teeter - California "Nutra Figs," with potassium sorbate and sulfur dioxide added as preservatives. Yum.
The figs didn't have all that much flavor.
And also, the texture was kind of off-putting to me.
Dry and granular.
I really need to try fresh figs.

I loved the souffle.
I will be making this again.
Need to try a different type fig though.


Chickens were on sale for 69 cents a pound the other day, so that's what we're having for dinner tonight. I took the chicken out early this morning and put it in a brine solution - covered it with water and a lot of salt. Left it soaking for hours.
Then rinsed with cold water and prepared it to cook.

I went out and picked some parsley and sage, chopped it up and mixed it with butter.

Then I put the herb/butter mixture underneath the chicken skin.

Semi-trussed my bird up and added salt and butter and a bit of oil.
I should have paid attention to that new woman on Food Network Sunday mornings that does the restaurant tips for the home cook. I think I read she trussed a chicken.

Here's my 6 pound chicken after almost 2 hours.
Shoot. I cooked it on "convection bake."
I should have used "convection roast."
Except I didn't realize I had that option.
Rosie kicks self.
I really should read instruction books that come with my appliances.
Next time I cook a hen, I'll remember to do that and report back to you.

Middle Hawthorne loves his mashed potatoes, so that's what I'm making to go with the hen.
Here, I have my cooked potato dices with butter, sour cream, and cream.

Next, giblet gravy.

I sauteed my chopped giblets and sliced mushrooms in butter.

Add flour to make a roux.

Add a bit of the broth from the roasting pan to make a gravy.

Here's the chicken (You can see the herb stuffing inside.)
and the mashed taters with giblet gravy.
I heartily recommend brining your chicken.
2 quarts water with 1 cup Kosher salt for several hours.
The chicken comes out so moist, tender, and flavorful.
It truly makes a difference.


Yeah, I know.
I should have some veggie color in there.
But I was tired.
Does that count as an excuse?